New Philly pools rules require kids to swim a length before going in the deep end

Apr 8, 2014

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A tragic child drowning at a Philadelphia Parks and Recreation pool last year will mean stricter rules for young swimmers who visit city pools this summer.

The biggest change:Â all camp swimmers will have to swim from one end of the pool to the other before they’ll be allowed in the deep end.

On July 18, 2013,Â Ja’briel O’Connor was visiting the Cobbs Creek Recreation Center poolÂ with his summer camp when he ventured into the deeper end of the pool. O’Connor, who was 7 and 4-foot-4-inches tall, panicked in the water, which was 5-feet deep.

He did not know how to swim.

According to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner, O’Connor suffered cardiac arrest and sank to the bottom of the pool, unnoticed.